In the name of Allah the most Gracious, the most Merciful

HOW TO BE AWARE? AWAKE?
How to survive in the Journey/Path to Allah!

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Ten points of surviving, reaching, uniting your heart to Allah, Being close to Allah, opening from Allah and relationship with Allah!

1. Contentment

   • Be content with whatever Allah gives

   • If you thank Allah, Allah will increase His bounty

   • Thank Allah for the quality He has, feel the bounty of Allah over you

   Key
   Bounties are of two kinds

   • Ulwi (highest gift) - meaning guidance, knowledge of Allah, the light and wisdom of Allah , pleasing Allah, Dignity and to be a Believer, Jannah(Paradise)etc., etc

   • Sufli (lower gift) - shelter, clothing, help, time, ability, husband, wife, jobs,breathing, sight, hearing, etc

   We humans are stuck with the sufli (lower bounty) but ignore the Ulwi (higher Bounty). We have to thank Allah for all the bounties, both high and low.

   Example 1
   When we try to change ourselves for beauty, we are not happy with what Allah gave us, meaning we are not thanking Allah.

   Example 2
   If you look at others with what they have which you don�t have, then you are not content, you will want to have what others have. Allah does not like those who do this.

   Ponder
   The only two qualities we should envy are:

   • Someone who has knowledge and spreading it day and night

   • Someone who Allah has gifted with wealth and he is spending it for Allah day and night

   Note
   All the things that we are talking about will lead you to contentment

   • Thank Allah for who you are and what you have.
   • Thank Allah for what He offers you all the time, the highest is Hidaya (guidance), Iman (faith).
   • The secret to Allah's bounty eliminates all the diseases of the heart. If you thank Allah and you are content, you will get the highest support from Allah.
   • Opposite: if you do the opposite that is if you do not remember Allah's bounty over you; then you will not have contentment because you do not see the bounties of Allah

   Allah wants us to realize His bounty and thank Him for it. Allah has said in the Quran "If you thank me I will increase��If you are pleased and content with what Allah gave you then you should not be looking at what others have.
   
   This topic of contentment can be talked about for many weeks yet it will not be finished.......

2. Promises of Allah

   We forget all the promises of Allah. Meaning, Jannah (Paradise), Jahannam (Hell Fire), Journey after Death (grave). There are many levels of Jannah and Jahannam, depending on how much you do. And according to what you do, you will receive that level.

   Note
   

   • The more you remember what Allah has promised the more you will work for Allah. In contrary, the more you forget Allah, Duniya will be everything to you (you will be son of Duniya). Allah will make you forget about Him and you will be busy with Duniya.

   • You cannot mix these two in your life. You have to choose either the first one or the second one. If you choose Duniya over the life after death, then Allah will make you busy with it, and if you choose the life after death then Allah will give His bounty to you in this life and the hereafter.

   • Now it is up to us to choose which one we want to choose from. You have to have respect and trust in Allah's promises. The deeds that we do for Allah will be written in the Bank of Elahi (May Allah SWT use us for Him)

3. Elements of Istiqama (Steadfastness)
   If you follow the above point 1 and point 2 you will gain this point i.e. 3. Two qualities have to be kept in mind:

   • Zikr (remembrance of Allah)

   • Humble and humility

   Key
   This will make you respect others and not look at others for anything. Allah did not set any limit on Zikr and Charity! do the maximum you can and Allah SWT will love you and make you closer to Him and you will look at everything with an eye of Basirah (vision & wisdom).

   Ponder
   All the scholars have agreed with something

   • Allah does not take from you to torture you, disgrace you or to put you down

   • Instead He takes away something from you and gives you something higher.

   • The highest gift is something that makes you closer to Him.

   • Main foundation: You will be given high level of Iman because He (Allah SWT) knows that you will use this only for Him.

   • For a momin, whatever Allah gives is to use it for others, not to abuse it by wasting it.

4. Rely and Trust in Allah
   Allah alone is sufficient for everything in our lives. We do not need anything or anyone else but Allah alone. We have to have complete submission, trust and rely to the Owner of all the qualities.

   Key
   �If you are happy with Allah in this life, then Allah will make you happy in the life after death�

   Ponder
   Who has the Key of all the Keys???

   • Allah is the Owner of all the keys! Allah�s attributes (Names and His qualities)is the key of all keys!!!

   • Everything in this life is useless. It has no future benefit even if we are the king of the king or even if we have all material and status.

   • Now on the other hand, �If you have nothing except Allah, you have everything. If you have everything except Allah, you have nothing".

   • Allah is ever lasting. What we have will end soon or later.

5. 5 to achieve 5

   • Seeking Useful Knowledge (Allah's knowledge)

   • Knowing the Aqidah and Tawhid

   
   Example
   Once upon a time people went to a scholar to learn from him. But the scholar never taught anything except saying "Ya Hakim". People said to him "you only say the same thing". The scholar replied - Allah is the one and I trust in Him the wise and I look around I find everything is existing with his own wisdom and I surrender to his own wisdom. What it means is to have belief and trust in everyname and attribute of Allah.

   • Ultimate Disgrace: When Allah gives you something but you do not appreciate it and don�t use it for him, then He takes it away.

   • Ultimate Elevation and dignity:When Allah gives you and allows you to appreciate it and use it for Sabilillah

   • Allah gives you and He takes away from you, not to disgrace you but to elevate you and that is a part of your Journey of Iman.

   • Whatever Allah gives, you have to use it in the right way and not abuse it.

   Rights of Knowledge:
   

   • Gain the knowledge purely to benefit yourself

   • Learn with the intention to live the message, to be a role model with the character and manner.

   • After you develop the quality now you can invite people toward it.

   • If you do not have the quality what quality can you give to others?

   • Be patient; do not spread the knowledge for money or for any other material purpose. Spread the mercy, guidance, light and wisdom of Allah with Humbleness and Humility..

6. In achieving the 5th point:

   • Seeking useful knowledge.

   • Seeking the right company and moving away from corrupted company or Environment.

     • If you cannot find any good company then read a book. A good Book can be your good companion. Study about the companions of the Prophet SAWS.
       

       Allah only is enough for everyone if you cannot find anybody or a book.Allah promises to guide those who seek guidance;meaning If I have no one to support me, I do not know what to do, seek Allah�s way, call Allah, He will open the means to you.

     Example
     One companion of the Prophet SAWS went alone to the dessert stayed there for 7 years and died there.

     • At any giving time either we are affecting someone or someone is effecting us.

       • It is very important to know who is effecting us and why? Or

       • Am I affecting anyone and why?

   • Visiting the graves, sick people, and poor people.
     Ponder
     This is to humble your-self and to remind you who you are and where you are going!

   • Do not put your nose or interfere in someone's life or something that does not belong to YOU.
     Example
     Do not look for other's faults; be busy with yourself, even if it is your, Husband, wife, a family member. If you are busy with others then you are sick in the heart, you will forget about your own self. Key
     In Islam you cannot share any problem with anyone except a Sheik (knowledgeable person with the right Iman) with the intention to gain the right advice according to Quran and Sunnah, because if you are sharing your problems with anyone you are occupying another person with your own problem,meaning you are not content, you are a complainer and you seek sympathy from other and this will decrease your iman for you and other.

7. The Purpose and the Goal of seeking knowledge:
   At the time of seeking knowledge you have to be patient until its fulfillment.

   • You have to live the knowledge that you are gaining (putting the knowledge into Practice)

   • You have to live the knowledge that you are gaining (putting the knowledge into Practice)

   • You have to spread the message maximum you can.

   • You have to be patient and you have to be willing to sacrifice everything for the message.

   May Allah make us among them!

   Key
   These above 4 points will not come before 4 other points as below:

   • Listening purely for Allah SWT with the intention to live the message, meaning learning, not talking..

   • Keep listening and making du�a of the same thing, until you are thinking about the message.

   • Desire of living what you are listening to.

   • Ask Allah to give you the ability to live what you are hearing.

   Note
   Overall you have to be sincere in the message.

   Example
   One of the great imam, Imam Shafaie who was sitting and a man came to him and asked him what should he do when his slave did something wrong. Imam Shafaie did not respond right away. After some time he came back and asked �where is the man who asked me about the slave". Then the Imam answered the man. Meaning Imam Shafaie experienced and lived the same situation of the man, gained knowledge then gave the man a response. Imam Shafaie did not rush and give his own opinion rather he gave a sincere answer after living the same message.

   • Prophet Muhammad SWAS said cure your sick people with sadaqa (charity).

   • Sadaqa (charity) cools the anger of Allah.

   • Protect yourself from Allah's anger by giving charity.

   Ponder
   �We are poor because once Allah gives us money or wealth we become stingy. Opposite, if we spend for Allah, Allah promises to increase it. (Subhannallah)�

8. Be patient with Allah, for Allah & towards Allah:
   {We should live with the belief of the Qadr of Allah meaning Destiny}

   • What is Patience?

   • Patience is a quality which comes from Allah's name (As-Saboor).

   • Patience comes from Iman (faith) and yakiin (trust).

   • If you trust Allah then how can you think about your problems?Meaning: You forget the Qadr the destiny of Allah. Problem? meaning, a trial, examination- to check you out, to test your iman.

   • The more you trust Allah the more you will be patient

   • Patient is knowledge

   • The knowledge of Allah is one thing that enables you to understand and it is many different levels and has many stages.

   • If you surrender to the Qadr of Allah, meaning destiny and what is ordained for you, you will be patient.

   • Companions used to say �with out no doubt our eyes are liar and what Allah promises is the truth". Meaning, the companion had full trust in Allah SWT.And they believed in the promises of Allah, meaning- Jannah, and the complete support of this life.

   • Everything has a connection and junction, if you break one you will break them all. Meaning if you have a good quality slowly you will adopt all the other good qualities, and if you have a bad quality you will adapt more bad qualities one after another. But the good and bad quality does not mix, yes you can be weak in certain things but with good manners you can overcome them, inshallah.

   • Believing in the unseen is the truth, these are the junctions that will allow us to be patient and be a believer of the Qadr of Allah.

   • Most of the time we have no Iman (faith) and Yakiin (trust) because we take things for granted and expect things to happen according to our own will and we forget the Qadr of Allah (destiny)

   
   Example:
   An old man in Egypt was very sick in the hospital and his relatives were with him but the relatives were poor and the old man woke up from the coma once and said to take him to his home and he will be in peace there. Then after 40 days he passed away on his bed, he was a good man, inshallah. He was very sick but still he had the hope of the Rahma (mercy) of Allah and there was wisdom behind it.

   • Our condition is much better than millions of other people around the world. Therefore we should be thankful and content with what Allah provides us

   
   Example:
   Many people are blind, have asthma, are deaf, cannot walk, cannot speak, Cannot taste.

   • We are still not content with Allah, that's why we have problems. Allah said the more we, Thank Him the more He will increase His bounty and provision.

   • There are many people who are content without having anything, not even the basic shelter but they have something very beautiful which is happiness in their hearts. And how many of us who have many things more than what we need and still complain and we are not content and not thankful.

   
   Example:
   There is a poor woman with six children. They have nothing at home and have a lot of debt but she is still thanking Allah. She said 'we enjoy anything that we get'. Opposite: There are many people who have every kind of luxury in their lives but have no happiness. What is the point of this kind of luxurious life where there is no peace in the heart?

9. Thanking Allah for Everything:
   Allah is the Creator of everything! He deserves to be thanked and we should thank Him. Should we not thank Him the one who gives us everything?

   • The ultimate servant is the one who thanks Allah and remains content. He will be surrounded by Angels. Those are the happy ones, those are the ultimate servants of Allah. And the opposite i.e the ultimate disgrace is to be discontent and be surrounded by Satan, those who are not thankful to Allah are Troubled miserable, unhappy.

   • Even if we get fever, Allah erases sins from us, (Subhanallah!). Ponder
     �For every pain, in replace we get Rewards�

   • If you are a momin(a believer) and you watch everything around you with the eyes of wisdom you should be happy thanks to Allah swt!!
     Ponder
     Even with our brain and with all the technology; we cannot comprehend the wisdom of Allah we are limited compared to Allah swt. Everything has wisdom behind it, some are known to us and some are not, but it does not mean that it does not exist.Meaning, The creator, His wisdom is beyond our comprehention.

   • If you have any calamity and you have Iman (faith and trust in Allah) then you will have no problem.
     Ponder
     We become so occupied with the little things and make it a big deal, and we forget the higher goal or purpose of life.

   • We forget where we came from and forget the luxurious life that we are provided with. We came from clay, we used to be poor and when we get money, material, life, extra provision, we become stingy and we forget where we come from in the past, where we are going ( meaning after death).And that is the cause for which we do not recognize and thank the Al-Mighty creator, the sustainer of everything
     Key
     No one will leave this world without a trial. We are supposed to be here in this world to leave not to stay here forever. We are like strangers in this world and our real home and destination is the hereafter.

   • Prophet Muhammad [SAWS] said: "Don't build anything that you are not going to take with you�. (He said, �whoever love duniya, he will destroy his Akhira and whoever love Akhira, he will destroy his Duniya. Choose what is staying from what is leaving) It means Duniya is leaving, Akhira Stays�.
     Key
     The happy one among us will be the one who Allah opens his heart and goes to Hereafter Jannah. Meaning if we are in a state of Taslim (the ultimate status of surrender and submit to Allah).

   • Gaining knowledge should not be for any pleasure, fun, joke.
     Key
     �The more you know the more you will be responsible, meaning the more you gain knowledge, the more you gain responsibility with this knowledge and you have to make an effort to spread it the maximum you can. Similar the more you gain money or wealth the more it comes with responsibility to spend it for Allah.�

   • Our main Problem: Our nafs (ego, desires, wishes etc...) are too high, we cannot let go of our bad habits , the attachment of the material life, in other hand we should and adopt the good habits of Prophet Muhammad [SAWS].

   • Benefit of Seeking Knowledge: If we respect the knowledge and we live accordingly we will gain the light and wisdom and happiness of this knowledge
     Example
     Musa (AS) wanted to know something extra but Allah said �You cannot get more extra than the belief in Me ( La ilaha illalla) meaning this is the highest bounty, the highest knowledge".Because Allah swt has the full wisdom if we believe so.

   • The more intelligent we get the more corrupt , more arrogant, more belief in ourselves. Our brain does not rest and starts going in all different direction where it is not supposed to.(meaning, we try to comprehend every little thing in life and we forget the wisdom of Allah)

   • Iman (faith) contains all the happiness and luxury, but opposite: if you take out Iman from your heart you will lose happiness even if we have all luxury in life.
     Ponder
     There are many People who have wealth, property but no Iman in their hearts, are they really happy deep down in their hearts? The answer most of the times is NO. Meaning: with all the wealth we cannot gain happiness. Happiness comes only with Iman.
     Key
     �You wake up as a mu�min but you can go to sleep as a kafir and you can wake up as a kafir but you can go to sleep as a mu�min"- Hadith.
     Meaning, our Iman is too weak and it goes up and down.
     Example
     When parents marry not for Allah and when they devote their life for material and their own children, we see the result, the parents do not benefit and the children don not benefit in this life and the hereafter both as a loser.

10. Love of Allah:
    

    • The most strongest rope in Islam is the Love of Allah

    • Love for Allah will benefit you the most in the hereafter.
      Ponder
      Hajj is all about coming back working for the journey after death.

    • Quran is all about Akhira (hereafter); it leads us to one subject the meeting with Allah SWT. Meaning, it should lead us to love Allah, the one and only who can benefit us in this life and the hereafter.

    • Warning: Anything you do too much or push for it you have to pay for it

    • You will never have Iman until you are free from everything because when you die, no one can benefit you except Allah, who will never die because He is eternal.

    
    Key
    

    • Prophet Muhammad SWAS said: "Love of Duniya is the mother of all the sins"

    • You should not fill your heart with the love of Duniya.

    • Anything that you own, if you do not have Iman it will not be worth it.

    
    Note
    If you have Iman you will be spending it for Allah.

    • When Allah gives you something you are suppose to give it back to the people. Other people might be in a greater need than you.

    • Allah gives you not to hold on to it but to share it with others.

    • Allah said many times in the Quran. If you remember Him at the time of ease, He promises to take care of you at the time of your difficulties. Meaning we should thank Allah when we are at the time of ease and if we don't thank Allah then He will take it away.

    • If you feel you have too much of attachment to a thing then give it away because that thing will be a barrier between you and Allah.
      Example
      If you buy sweets for $25 but the average meal is worth $10, you have spent extra $15 more so you should give sadaqa (charity) for the extra you have spent just to save yourself.

    • Allah has given us so much nyama (gift), Nyama of health, time, and brain. Whatever gifts that we are given we should use it for Allah, by this way we will be thanking Him for whatever He have provided us with.

    • To love Allah, to give for Allah, to live for Allah, to spread the message to Allah, to be willing to sacrifice everything for Allah�.NOW YOU CAN LOVE ALLAH.

All of the above is just a word or a sentence, something to make us remember. It might not make sense sometime, but behind all of the above there is a Message. THE MESSAGE OF ISLAM.

Let us make du�a to Allah and thank Him for making us Muslims. Believe in Allah�s Rahma and hope for it. Make du�a to Allah in times of eaze and difficulty and remember, Allah knows what is best for you. With that inshallah we will conclude. May Allah put Baraka in what we have read and learned? And may He give us the ability to implement the message that we have gained, Ameen..,

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